Making Sex Seekers Out of Youth

The Centers for Disease Control has released the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report (YRBS). This report shows the numbers of youth risk behaviors, including sexual risk behaviors, which shows a slight increase in the number of sexually active teens.

"While opponents to sexual integrity education blame abstinence programs for these numbers, I think it`s high time they took a look in the mirror," said Leslee Unruh. Studies show that abstinence education is far out-funded by condom-only education and others confirm this fact showing that condom education is taught in more classrooms than abstinence education. Most parents are actually shocked to learn that the programs promoting sex outside-of-marriage out-fund abstinence-until-marriage programs by a rate of nearly $12 to $1. Yet, these programs promoting sex outside-of-marriage continue to be funded with little oversight or peer reviewed evaluations to demonstrate their effectiveness. "I challenge condom and contraceptive programs to conduct the same rigorous studies of their programs as abstinence programs do," said Leslee Unruh.

Opponents to abstinence education like Dr. Laura Berman blame the increase in sexual activity on, "kids learning skewed messages about what sex is," and "they are confused about what virginity means," and "I think part of the problem honestly is the abstinence only model." So they blame the increase in sexual activity on abstinence programs that promote sexual integrity through teaching self control while their programs promote teaching youth graphic sexual messages at an even earlier age. Why is this so confusing for them? You teach youth how to have sex and they will become sexually active. You teach them how to abstain, and reinforce that message consistently, and they will abstain. "The only skewed message our youth receive is the one that teaches them they have no self-control, teaches them how to have sex and ultimately puts their lives at risk. We need to stop making `sex seekers` out of youth," according to Leslee Unruh.

Unruh concludes, "Abstinence education teaches love; condom only education teaches lust. Let`s do the right thing for youth by raising the bar for their sexual health from lust to love. Let`s provide them the tools they need for self-control, to withstand the pressures, reject sexual advances, form healthy relationships and protect their bodies and their minds 100%."

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